Cadillac’s F1 line-up branded ‘really boring’ as ‘drivers won’t make car quicker’

Former F1 team manager Peter Windsor has dismissed Cadillac’s 2026 driver line-up as “unbelievably boring”, warning that past experience won’t make their car any quicker.

On Tuesday, Cadillac finally announced Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as their drivers for 2026.

Bottas and Perez are two of the most experienced drivers on the grid, with well over 200 races to their name.

Neither driver is on the 2025 F1 grid after failing to land drives at Sauber or Red Bull, respectively.

Bottas has been Mercedes’ test and reserve driver, while acting as a mentor for Kimi Antonelli.

On the other hand, Perez has taken a substantial break away from the sport, spending a lot of time with his family in Mexico.

Cadillac’s line-up for next year has been met with a mixed reception.

Some feel it’s a sensible choice, but others think it’s a missed opportunity.

Windsor, who worked for Ferrari and Williams in the 1990s, was far from impressed with Cadillac’s choice.

Speaking to GP Blog, Windsor said: “Really boring choice. Unbelievably boring and a bit disappointing, really. What are they thinking? ‘Oh, we’ve got to have two guys that have won Grands Prix in order to have our credibility.’”

One key factor behind choosing Bottas and Perez is their race-winning experience.

Windsor doubts they will be able to use their experience to improve the performance of the car.

“Are they thinking that or are they thinking this is the way to get the technology in a way that’s going to be competitive because these two guys have so much experience with them? That’s complete nonsense as we all know,” Windsor added.

“How many times have we seen drivers who’ve won world championships go to teams because they’ve got the experience and they’re going to… Alain Prost, so many people, when he did his own team.

“And more recently Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello when they went to Williams from Ferrari taking all that experience and BAR, and it didn’t make any difference whatsoever because racing drivers are racing drivers.

“They’re not engineers and they’re only as good as the car they drive. And if you look at in reality, they’re signing two guys that at the back end of their career were struggling in a Red Bull and in a Mercedes.

“So what they’re hoping to achieve with that car, if that is a good car, they’re not really going to know that. Because it’s going to be limited to the sort of horizons of those two guys.”

Windsor’s Cadillac pick

Windsor would have chosen Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti.

Windsor thinks that Vest’s involvement with Mercedes would have made him a good choice.

Additionally, Vesti being a rookie would have only enhanced the “story” at Cadillac.

”I would probably give a drive to Frederik Vesti,” Windsor explained. “I think if you want Formula One, modern Formula 1 current experience, at least at the level of Bottas in the sim and the technology of what Mercedes are doing, which is what he’s been doing last year.

“Vesti’s got all of that for sure, and more probably because he’s been doing that job a bit longer.

“And I think he’s very, very quick as a driver, and he’s got an early turn in, he’s got a lovely feel and touch. He’s got no race experience at all, but that’s part of the story.”